Smoke Rack Ribs


 
Dave Russell said:
I've heard that hanging ribs sort of self-basted them, and they certainly look a little different than if they were cooked flat or standing on bone end like rolled or in a rib rack. The color and evenness of cooking is fantastic, and although I like ribs hung over the coals, the water pan sure makes for a more moist environment and stress-free cook. Now I wish my big WSM was just a little bit taller. I wonder how many half slabs you can hang in the 18.5" wsm, though?
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Dave you should be able to hang a full length rack in a 22 I would think. There is more height to use in the dome therefore the rack can be taller than the one I have created. The top ring can also be increased in size which would allow for more room to hang. I'm guessing somewhere between 16-18" in diameter for the top ring, 15" at least. Mine is 12". Also as you have mentioned there is plenty of room to lengthen the grill straps and lower the water pan some if necessary. The other way would be to spand the charcoal ring with two or three pieces of round bar or inverted angle iron and set the waterpan right on the material if the rounded bottom will allow it.

This is the first time I have ever regretted selling my 22. Yes, I said that! Really though half racks will work out too. I'm thinking I could get at least 6 full racks and possubly as many as 8 depending on how I designed the hooks.
 
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With a Pro Q stacker you'll definitely be able to hang full length slabs in the 18.5.

Hanging also enables you to cook more ribs within a given space, if that's ever an issue.
I regularly smoke 4 slabs of ribs for our family and friends gatherings. I used to do them in my UDS on the grates which required me to burn roughly half a basket of coals. Now I can hang them in my extended Smokey Joe and burn less than a chimney full of fuel. The smaller volume smoke chamber burns a heck of a lot less fuel.
 
George L said:
With a Pro Q stacker you'll definitely be able to hang full length slabs in the 18.5.

Thanks for the suggestion George. I remember Chris A doing an evaluation on one of those. I'm not sure I want to go to that much trouble as there would llikely be cross border shipping, Customs and Brokerage fees.

I totally agree on the fuel consumption, that was the main reason I switched to an 18 as there are only two of us and I don't normally cook large amounts. I have another idea to try yet, a heat sink on top of the smoke ring or possibly the Brinkman pan with water on top of the smoke ring. Don't need a lot of room for fuel on a short cook like this. I could also squeeze another inch or two out of the top dead centre of the smoke rack although that would likely only give me enough room for two full racks. We don't eat ribs often but I have to admit I sure loved cooking them this way makes me want to start macon bacon!

Got to get me fish!
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okay, here is my version of "The GaryRibHanger"

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21 1/2 inch base ring, 15 inch top ring, 9 inch rise with 3 rods atop.
Made from steel, did not use stainless, i don't care to clean.
I did, however, make two stainless hooks. May need to make a few more.

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from hook to waterpan, a 19inch rack of STLspares will NOT fit.

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We'll see how this works later, two racks of spares are planned for today's dinner.

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Thanks Gary for the inspiration!
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Nice Job Jim! Looks fantastic!. I can see you're a better welder than I am.

Does this mean I will have "Standing" in Pigvilion?
 
I can see you're a better welder than I am.
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Thanks Gary:) butt i did not weld it. The rings are parts made at the manufacturing plant i work at, the rest of the steel, is "drop-off" i simply cut to size. A co-worker did the welding.
Does this mean I will have "Standing" in Pigvilion?
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Absolutely!
 
Jim Lampe said:
from hook to waterpan, a 19inch rack of STLspares will NOT fit.
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Very nice job on your rack too!
Given the size of your WSM I'm surprised it is still not tall enough to clear the pan. You can try running without the pan and see if you like it. Otherwise, I would try to rig up a shallow pan to fit further down the smoker to diffuse the heat and catch the drippings.
 
George L said:
Very nice job on your rack too!
Given the size of your WSM I'm surprised it is still not tall enough to clear the pan. You can try running without the pan and see if you like it. Otherwise, I would try to rig up a shallow pan to fit further down the smoker to diffuse the heat and catch the drippings.
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I am too. It would not be a problem to remove the existing grill straps, lengthen them and reinstall. It would very simple for whoever Jim had weld that up at his work. As I recall there is plenty of room above the charcoal ring to do that.

George, I'm going to do what you're suggesting with the 18 to see if I can get the length I need if not then it is what it is.
 
i just returned from grocery shopping (and buying MORE spares)... driving home, i'm thinking about this...
Why did I not consider using my rotisserie ring and making the risers 4 inches longer...???!!!
Instead of only 9 inch height, i coulda gone 13", certainly clearing the waterpan in place.

of course, i COULD cut the risers and weld in another 4 inches... looks are not important.

I'll go forward with today's cook of two racks of spares with or without the waterpan in place and take it from there.
After all, it's only meat. No one gets hurt experimenting.
Thanks your guys for the ideas...
 
Jim, I think your rotisserie ring, if it's a Weber, will not be air tight at least it isn't on my kettle and I'm pretty sure it's not on the WSM so you would not be able to control the temps the same way. Lengthening the straps is really the easiest way. If you design it right you could add another grill gate too for those really big cooks, you know where you feed the world!:)

As for appearance I agree and besides after a few smokes the welds won't look any better than mine!
 
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i understand the ring not being air tight, (my ring is the cajun bandit reversible ring, use it on a kettle or flip it to use on the WSM.
covering the openings on the ring is easy enough and if it's still not airtight, i wouldn't worry very much about it.
 
well... bad news.
when i started, the ribs were like an inch from the foiled waterpan.
20 minutes later, the ribs were touching the foiled pan and in the drippings.
i can imagine how much more they would sag.... so.....
I got out two short skewers...

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not liking this set-up....

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...so i took the entire contraption off and cookin' these STLspares the ol'fashioned way...

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gonna think of adding to the risers as i noted in a previous post.
 
I like that Jim but I still think to get the most out of the 22 with the smoke rack all you need to do is remove the grill straps, cut them at the lower grate level and add 3-4 inches of flat bar, weld them, grind'em smooth, go to Lowes and get the plate mirror tabs for hanging a plate mirror, (or not), place them on the grill straps, weld them into place and you have another grill grate level for things like your sausage or jerky or brisket or whatever and your water pan is 3-4"lower. Easy Peasy as they say.
 
Woops your change in post time went before I finished mine. You could have cut a few ribs off of each and laid them across the top. Oh well I know you will work it out.
 
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yeah, dropping the waterpan is the way to go.
OR
not using the pan at all.

i'm not giving up entirely, just today i did.
never had soo much hickory smoke in my eyes
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